Industry News

Senate Democrats Boycott HHS Confirmation Vote

Earlier this morning, Democratic senators boycotted the confirmation vote for Rep. Tom Price as leader of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), reports CNN.

The boycott comes in the wake of a Wall Street Journal report claiming that Price received a special discounted deal when buying stock in Australian pharmaceutical company Innate Immunotherapeutics.

In response to the article, Senate Democrats convened a news conference announcing their boycott just before the vote was scheduled to take place. Steve Mnuchin was also scheduled to be voted on as Treasury Secretary during the same session.

According to Senate Finance Committee regulations, at least one Democrat must be present for a vote to take place. While the vote will be rescheduled, Democrats could technically continue to boycott, meaning no nomination could be confirmed. If so, future developments for the HHS could be put on hold.